Talk to me
by ltc420
Summary: When 17 year old Castiel Novak meets 18 year old Dean Winchester, he can't help but be caught off guard. Dean can't talk, due to some traumatic events that took place in his past. Castiel offers his help, being the only other person in the school who knows sign language and he feels himself quickly starting to fall for the guy. He has a feeling that he's in for one hell ofa year
1. Chapter 1

Castiel sighed deeply as he examined himself in the bathroom mirror. He told himself the night before that he was going to attempt to look good on his first day of his Senior year to start the Semester off with a bang. But that idea immediately was flushed down the toilet when he forgot to set his alarm and woke up 30 minutes late. He hoped to God that this morning wasn't some sort of foreshadowing of what the rest of the year was going to be like. As he finished brushing his teeth he heard a soft knock at the door. He glanced at himself one last time shrugging his shoulders, and opening the door to his brother Gabriel sucking on a lollipop.

"Hey kiddo', you ready?" he asked. Castiel nodded his head glumly, feeling his stomach turn upside down nervously.

"Chin up bro, seriously, it's your last year of high school! You should be fucking pumped right now!" Castiel responded by rolling his eyes, not wanting to admit that his brother had a point. He wanted this year to be good for him. He wanted to go to parties, hang out late with his friends, and maybe even have a few relationships. Castiel smirked at the thought and looked back up at his brother,

"Yeah, you're right, this year shouldn't be that bad." He said trying to re-assure himself. Gabriel patted his brothers shoulder roughly and grinned,

"That's the spirit. Now, get your ass in gear or we're going to be late."

Gabriel was a year older than Castiel, but because he spent most of his junior year goofing off and skipping school every other day, he had to stay back to make up for his credits.

Castiel, on the other hand, had pretty decent grades. He'd never failed a class in his life and he couldn't help feeling a little sense of pride at that.

As he headed down stairs he ran into his younger sister Anna, who had her book bag swung over her shoulder and cell phone in her hand texting away. Castiel put his hand in her fiery red hair and ruffled it up a bit. She immediately swatted him away and glared at him, he laughed and stuck out his tongue teasingly. She rolled her eyes and smiled, pushing him playfully. Anna and Castiel had always been close. Castiel was the only one, aside from his parents, who had learned sign language to be able to communicate with her easier. Anna was born deaf and it had been a struggle for her and the family, but over the years they had all learned to cope with her disability. Despite her not being able to hear, though, she was actually fairly popular. She had a decent amount of friends and got along with pretty much anyone.

Castiel, while not the most popular in his school, wasn't what people would consider 'un-popular' either. He didn't mind. He had his group of close friends that he spent most of his time with and that was really all he needed. He didn't have any enemies, as far as he knew, and he got along with everyone else just fine. He just hoped to the heavens that it stayed that way.

The car ride to school was quiet. Gabriel glanced over at his brother from the drivers seat and raised his brow,

"Castiel, I swear to God if you don't shut the fuck up I'm going to pull this car over and make you walk." He said sarcastically. Castiel rolled his eyes,

"Oh no, walking a whole block to school, the horror!" He said putting his hand to his chest in mock terror. Gabriel chuckled and shook his head,

"I take that back. I liked it when you weren't talking….Smart ass." He pulled up to the school and parked in his usual spot. Castiel sighed, bracing himself and opened the door, bid his brother goodbye and slung his bag over his shoulder. He looked around the filled lot to see if he could spot any of his friends. When he didn't, he figured they must already be inside. He started walking to the entrance but stopped short when he noticed a shiny black '67 Chevy Impala parked in the second to last spot. He admired the sleek vehicle in awe. Cars weren't necessarily his forte, but he knew a beauty when he saw one. He hadn't ever seen the car before and wondered who's it could be.

As if on queue, the door opened and a tall lean figure stepped out of the vehicle and slammed the door shut. Castiel jumped startled and looked up to meet a pair of unfamiliar bright green eyes.

The stranger was wearing a denim button down shirt over a white Tee. His hair was gelled neatly to where it sort of spiked up in the front. He had a strong set jaw and the longest eyelashes Cas had ever seen on a guy. Whoever this guy was, he was stunning. The stranger was now looking back at Castiel. He cocked his head to the side as if wondering why he was being stared at and Castiel immediately broke out of his trance. He felt his face heat up and he immediately tore his eyes away from the confused stranger and hurried into the building.

When he got inside he shook his head at his own stupidity and had to stop himself from slamming his face into the wall. The day had only just started and so far he had managed to wake up late, get harassed by his older brother (which wasn't really out of the norm) and then have an incredibly awkward encounter with the new guy. Great. He snorted bitterly at himself for his bad luck and continued down the crowded hallway. He heard shrieks and giggles as friends reunited after a long summer apart and saw people comparing tans and recounting the events and parties that took place over the break.

He was almost at his locker when he was tackled into to the wall. He yelped as he felt arms wrap tightly around his waist nearly cutting off his circulation.

"Oh my God I missed you so fucking much!" His best friend, Jo squealed happily. He sighed, relieved that he wasn't getting mugged like he originally thought, and returned the hug with a laugh,

"I would say the same, but I'm pretty sure you're cutting off the blood flow to my brain so I don't know how well that will work out." She rolled her eyes and pulling back from the hug and shook her head,

"Still as sarcastic as ever I see." She chuckled. Cas shrugged and opened his locker throwing his bag inside,

"Where is everyone else?" He asked slamming his locker shut and turning back to face her.

"Well, Pam went to the office to work out something about her schedule, and I have no clue in hell as to where Chuck and Ash are."

"Hm." he hummed leaning against his locker and crossing his arms over his chest. Jo raised a brow at him and sighed,

"Okay, what's up?" He looked at her confused

"What do you mean?" He asked. Jo rolled her eyes,

"I know you, Cas. You have that look." She crossed her arms in front of her and waited for him to reply. Castiel cursed her ability to read him like a book.

"I don't know." He said finally, "I just really want this year to be awesome and I'm just nervous that it's going to be…not…awesome." he admitted. Jo sighed and linked her arm with his and started leading them down the hall.

"You need to stop worrying so damn much before you turn prematurely grey." He laughed at that and she smiled, "Seriously though, this year is going to be great. We've got to make the best of it. That means, no sweating the small stuff. And yes, I'm talking about you." Cas nodded taking this in and actually felt, in a way, relieved. He had nothing to worry about. He had his friends, and he had easy classes this term. Time would fly by and before he knew it, he would be graduating. He just hoped that everything went smoothly for the rest of his high school year, that's the best he could ask for.

"What class do you have first?" He asked turning back to Jo.

"Geometry." She grimaced, "You?"

"Language Arts." He replied. "You know how much I love my grammar." Jo laughed,

"Cas, I swear, you are such a nerd."

He shrugged, "I do what I do."

The bell rang signaling the start of first period and both friends groaned in unison,

"Great. Off to hell I go!" Jo remarked unenthusiastically, "See ya' later." Cas nodded and headed down the hall to his first class. As he walked in he looked around the room to see Ash sitting in the back gesturing to the seat beside him. Castiel grinned and sat his stuff down at the desk.

"Hey man, are you ready to start the first day of our last year of this hell-hole?" Ash asked excitedly, his country accent thick and his mullet as long as ever. Cas nodded his head and leaned back in his desk crossing his arms,

"After this, we are free men, Ash." He sighed happily,

"Hell yeah we are. College ladies, here I come." Cas chuckled at his friend and turned his gaze to the front of the class room. He let out a gasp as he saw who walked in. It was the new kid from earlier that morning.

As if he had some weird sixth sense as to know when Castiel was staring at him, he immediately turned to meet Castiel's gaze. Castiel quickly turned away and focused on the back of the persons head in front of him. The mystery guy walked up to the teachers desk and knocked on it lightly to get her attention. Ms. Beth looked up and studied him,

"You must be Mr. Dean Winchester, am I right?" He nodded putting his hands in his pockets. "You're new here?" She asked, he nodded once again. "Oh, well welcome." She greeted kindly, "Where are you from?" At that question he looked immediately uncomfortable. He took his hands out of his pockets and started forming his hands into a bunch of different symbols which could probably be mistaken as gang signs by most of the students in the class who were now staring at the new guy intrigued. The teacher studied him confused and he dropped his hands to his sides and frowned, realizing she didn't understand. Castiel stared at the scene taking place before him shocked._ Is he deaf?_ He wondered.

"I'm so sorry dear, I don't know sign language." Ms. Beth informed him. Dean nodded shoving his hands back into his pockets and shrugging as if that didn't surprise him in the least. "Well, um, maybe you could write it down for me." She said smiling and started rummaging through her desk for some paper. Castiel cleared his throat,

"Um, Ms. Beth?" He spoke up not sure of what exactly he was doing. She looked up from her desk and glanced at him,

"Yes, Castiel?"

"I uh, know sign language, my sister is Deaf. Um, he said he just moved here from crossed the state." Dean stared at Castiel shocked. The teacher nodded her head at Castiel, obviously impressed.

"Oh, I see. Well, we're glad to have you, Mr. Winchester. Why don't you have a seat in the back next to Castiel, so if you need anything you can just tell him and he'll pass it on to me." He nodded and made his way to the back of the classroom. There were quiet whispers from mostly the girls, no doubt talking about how mysterious and attractive the new guy was. Castiel rolled his eyes at the thought.

Of course, all the girls are going to be all over him. He thought bitterly shocking himself. Why did it matter to him? He didn't even know the guy. Yeah, sure, he was extremely attractive, there was no doubt about that, but he was most likely very straight and would in no way be into him, So he needed to get that out of his head, and quick.

Castiel's inner turmoil was interrupted by a small tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Dean facing him, giving him a grateful look. He then held his hands up and started moving them to form words,

_Thanks for that, my name's Dean._

Castiel smiled despite himself and held his hands up to sign back,

_It's nice to meet you, Dean. So, are you deaf?_ Castiel could have kicked himself. He knew how much it irritated his sister when people asked about her disability. But to his relief, Dean didn't miss a beat.

_No, I can't talk. I'm mute._ He replied, blushing slightly which Castiel found a tad endearing.

"Oh." Castiel said, out loud this time. Dean smirked, showing off his dimples. "Well, I wouldn't mind being your interpreter…If, you'd like, that is." Castiel offered, feeling his face heat up. Dean smiled again, this time showing off all his teeth,

_I'd like that._

Castiel smiled at Dean's reply and nodded.

"Alright then, Castiel Novak, at your service." he held his hand up saluting and Dean chuckled,

_Lucky me._ Dean signed giving Castiel a sly wink before turning his attention to the front of the room. Castiel leaned back in his chair stunned, trying to calm his pounding heart. He couldn't help but think that maybe it was going to turn out to be an interesting year after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: Hey guys :D So I forgot to put this at the begining of the first chapter so I'm just going to leave this here. This is my first time writing fan fiction so all of your feedback, good or bad, is greatly appreciated :) i'm also open to recomendations because, you know, writers block is a bitch. But yeah, I hope you like it! **

**Enjoy! xoxo**

**P.S. I'm just kind of getting back into the groove of writing because I've been in the hospital for a few weeks, so sorry if the first few chapters kind of suck /: It will get better, I promise!**

Castiel went through his next couple of classes in a daze. His interest about the new guy was increasing every second. During his free period he decided to google 'Mutism'.

There was Akinetic mutism which has something to do with damage to the frontal lobe causing the victim to lose the ability to both move and speak. Dean could obviously move so he definitely didn't have Akinetic.

There was Selective, where the victim chose to speak to only a few select people and no one else.

Then there was Elective mutism, which is complete lack of speech that is caused by some sort of traumatic past event that damaged the person mentally, or somehow caused damage to their mouth or throat.

Castiel tapped his pencil on his desk thoughtfully. He wondered which category Dean fell under.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Castiel walked into the cafeteria and made his way to his usual spot where his friends were already waiting for him. As soon as he got to his seat, Pamela jumped up and wrapped him in a tight embrace,

"Ah, I missed your sweet ass!" She exclaimed pulling back and slapping Castiel's ass with a wink. He glared at her as he rubbed his rear that was bound to have a welt in the shape of Pamela's hand on it by the end of the day.

"Well, Pam, I see you're still as sexually frustrated as ever." he teased breaking into a grin and pulling up a seat beside Chuck. He glanced over at Ash who was typing away furiously on his laptop. Castiel learned a long time ago not to question what Ash did in his spare time not wanting to be found 'guilty by acquaintance' when his friend got caught hacking into the governments database or whatever the hell it was he was always doing on that computer.

Chuck looked up and nodded at Castiel in acknowledgment and then immediately went back to hurriedly writing in his notebook.

Jo kicked him under the table,

"So, have you heard? We have a new guy." She informed nibbling on a fry. Before Castiel could respond Pamela interjected excitedly,

"I have heard and I have seen and I can tell you that that boy is one fine piece of ass." She hummed and smirked examining her ruby nails. Castiel rolled his eyes feeling a pinge of annoyance in his gut.

"Yeah, he's in my first period. His name's Dean." He shrugged his shoulders casually, acting as if he didn't just spend the past few classes thinking about those gorgeous luminescent orbs on that guys face that were in fact, his eyes.

"Is he cool?" Chuck asked, finally looking up from his notepad. Castiel nodded stealing a fry from Jo's plate.

"Yeah, he seems cool. He can't talk though." He added shoving the fry in his mouth as he waited for his friends reactions.

"Like, you mean he's shy?" Pamela asked quirking a brow.

"No, he's mute. He literally can't speak." He paused, "He signs though." He thought with a small smile feeling like that somehow connected them. He immediately cringed. Why was he thinking like that? So what they both knew sign language? So what if Castiel was the only one in the whole school who could have a legit conversation with the guy? So what if Dean looked like a God damned Abercrombie model. It wasn't that big of a deal…

"Wow." Jo said interrupting Castiel's thoughts, "That…Kind of sucks." He nodded in agreement.

"No, that's kind of sexy." Pamela said smirking and crossing her arms in front of her, "A hot guy who can't talk. Sounds like any womans dream." Castiel felt his face get heated at her words,

"No, Pamela, it's not a dream. He can't talk. Do you even realize how difficult it must be for him to communicate with people? He can't have normal conversations, he can't talk on the phone to his friends, he can't tell the people he cares about that he loves them. Not to mention that he'll probably have a hell of a time finding a job in the future. It's not sexy, it's fucking tragic." His voice was harsh and he could feel his anger about to boil over. Why was he getting so defensive all of the sudden? He barely even knew the guy, and already he was snapping at his friend for making an innocent joke.

"Damn, Cas." Pamela muttered looking a tad hurt, "I'm sorry, I wasn't meaning to be a bitch or anything I was just kidding." He immediately felt guilty and sighed leaning back in his chair.

"Nah, it's not your fault, I'm just tired." he lied. Pamela gave him a soft smile and shoved him lightly,

"Shit, don't fucking scare me like that." He smiled at her and rolled his eyes playfully.

"Oh, speak of the devil and he shall appear." Chuck whispered suddenly pointing his head to the front of the cafeteria where Dean had just walked in with a group of people. Castiel immediately felt his heart speed up.

Dean was leaning against the wall and nodding along as he listened to a guy Castiel knew by the name of Andy, captain of the football team. Cas found himself transfixed with watching Dean smile and nod along to the conversation, occasionally tilting his head back to laugh. Castiel was not surprised to hear how nice Dean's laugh was. It was deep and sort of gruff, but at the same time light and care free.

Castiel yelped loudly as Chuck smacked him in the back of the head with a loud thwap.

"Earth to Cas, do you copy?" he said waving his hand in front of Cas's face dramatically.

Castiel glared, "Talk about dysfunctional friendships. You guys are abusive." He muttered rubbing the back of his head.

"Someone had to pull you out of never-never-land." Chuck laughed throwing down his pen and stretching his arms over his head.

"What are you even writing, Chuck?" Jo asked glancing curiously at his notebook.

He shrugged, "Eh, just a story about two brothers who travel across the country hunting ghosts and monsters and stuff."

Cas laughed, "Sounds soo realistic" he taunted, voice thick with sarcasm. He skillfully dodged a carrot that Chuck sent flying at his head and immediately picked it up and threw it back. In the middle of Cas and Chuck's mini food fight, Pam gasped suddenly,

"Shit, he's coming over here, do I look okay?" She asked as she quickly got out her compact mirror and started re-applying lip gloss. Castiel glanced up to feel his heart drop as he saw Dean making his way to his table. Chuck plucked a French fry out of Pam's hair and chuckled,

"Cas was right, you are sexually frustrated."

When Dean had finally made it to the table he smiled at Cas and gestured to the empty seat in front of him. Cas returned the grin and nodded,

"Yeah, you can sit there." Dean pulled out the chair with a grateful smile. He sat down and leaned back, stretching his arms over his head, which caused his shirt to ride up, revealing a thin strip of tanned skin right above his hip. Castiel averted his eyes quickly, and rubbed his shoulder nervously. Contain yourself.

When he looked back up Dean was staring at him, head cocked to the side questioningly. They stared for a couple of seconds until Chuck cleared his throat and rammed his elbow into Castiel's side,

"Oh!" He exclaimed, "Right, um, I should introduce you. Dean, these are my friends; Chuck, Pam, Jo and Ash. Guys, this is Dean."

"Sup." Ash said hardly glancing up from his computer.

"Nice to meet you, Dean." Pam purred, leaning forward exposing a fair amount of cleavage and fluttering her eyelashes. Dean smirked at her and winked. Castiel felt the urge to grab Jo's diet coke and dump it all over Pam's new blouse, but refrained.

"So, Dean. How do you like it here so far?" Jo asked curiously. Dean took his hands from behind his head and immediately started signing, Castiel tore his glare away from Pam so he was able to concentrate.

"He said things are pretty awesome so far." he mumbled putting his head in his hand and sighing. Dean shot him a grateful smile that nearly knocked Cas out of his chair.

"Oh just give it time." Chuck muttered jotting something down in his notebook. "You'll learn to hate this place as much as we do." This time it was Castiel's turn to wack Chuck in the back of the head. "Ow! I mean…You'll love it here!….People-great!…School-great!….Food…." He peeled the moldy bun off his hamburger with distaste, as Jo scoffed in disgust, "…Yeah, food…Not so great."

Dean chuckled at that and Castiel suddenly felt relieved. He wasn't sure why, but he really wanted Dean to like his friends.

"Hey, Dean!" Ash shouted a little too loudly from across the table making everyone jump, "Does it suck not being able to hear shit?" Jo and Pam groaned and Castiel put his head in his hands in disbelief.

"He's mute, not deaf you moron." Chuck explained rolling his eyes. Castiel looked up at Dean apologetically, but to Castiel's surprise, he didn't seem offended in the least. If anything he looked amused.

_What class do you have next_? Dean signed suddenly nodding towards Castiel.

"Um." he pulled his schedule out of his back pocket and glanced at it. "World History." He read, "Fun…" He mumbled unenthusiastically. Dean's face immediately brightened;

_Me too. Want to walk me to class_?

Castiel blushed and glanced down and then back up to meet Dean's gaze and cleared his throat trying to be as nonchalant as possible,

"Yeah, sure." he replied with shy smile. Dean smiled back and gave Cas a thumbs up.

The bell rang bringing Cas back to Earth and him and his friends all stood up.

"Catch ya' later cas." Chuck called over his shoulder, "Nice meeting ya' Dean." Dean smiled in acknowledgement and nodded as Chuck made his way down the hall.

Jo sighed heavily and picked up her books from the table, "Marketing. Blah." She huffed as she waved bye to Cas and Dean.

As Cas was about to lead Dean to their classroom, considering Dean had no idea where it was, Pamela stepped in front of them blocking their way,

"Hey guys, what class do you two have now?" She asked, eyes blatantly peeling down Deans body slowly. Cas frowned and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"World History." He answered bluntly. She pulled her lips into a pout and stuck her hip out,

"Aww, that sucks. I was hoping we would have a class together." She said not taking her eyes off Dean.

Dean crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side giving her a small half smirk. Cas's eyes raked over his toned arms and he had to remind himself that checking a guy out in the middle of a crowded hallway, while he was being hit on by one of your best friends was probably the worst time to check 'said guy' out.

Dean's eyes scoped out Pam's body slowly as she stared at him hungrily. This continued for a few more seconds until Cas coughed awkwardly and they both looked over at him, Pam looking slightly annoyed.

"Uh, we're going to be late." he stated weakly, staring down at his shoes. Dean nodded, looking back over to Pam giving her one last once over and one of his swoon-worthy half smiles, before following Cas down the hallway.

When they got in the class room Cas immediately went to sit in the back. Dean followed suit sitting in the desk directly to Castiel's right. He felt a small smile tugging at his lips for the fact that Dean willingly chose to sit by him, but then he thought of Pam and the moment was gone.

Cas didn't dare look over at Dean once as the class started and the teacher began the usual 'This is what I expect from my students this year' speech. Instead, he took to doodling randomly in his notebook.

When the teacher was through with her lecture she let them have the last ten minutes of class to themselves. As Cas was just starting to work on putting antennas on the roughly drawn alien he was working on, he felt a light knock on his desk. He let out a long sigh and looked over to face Dean's curious gaze.

_Are you okay? You don't look so good._

Cas chuckled bitterly, "Gee, thanks." He muttered staring down at his desk refusing to meet Dean's gaze. Dean cocked his eyebrow confused at Castiel's sudden change of attitude and leaned back in his desk befuddled.

They didn't speak for the rest of class, and as soon as the bell rang, Castiel quickly packed his stuff up and nearly sprinted out of the room without a second glance at Dean.

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When Castiel fell on his bed after school he let out a long sigh of relief. He was more than happy that the day was over. He put his face into his pillow and huffed. It was supposed to be a good first day, and here he was already wanting the year to be over.

Castiel knew he was acting like a baby and needed to snap out of it. He knew he shouldn't feel hostile towards Pam for being interested in Dean. It's not like she knew that he had already called dibs on him in his mind. She didn't even know that he liked guys. None of his friends knew. His own family didn't even know.

Cas first realized he was gay when he was 13. All of his friends had started hitting puberty and talking about how hot this girl was and that girl was, and Cas would just nod along pretending to agree. But, in all honesty, he just wasn't attracted to girls. He had started crushing on his best friend at the time, Balthazar. He would have never dreamed of actually telling Balthazar about his feelings for him in fear that he would freak him out and lose him indefinitely.

His crush lasted until he was 15. Balthazar and his family moved back to England and him and Cas basically lost all contact after that.

He had had a few crushes over the years, but never anything really serious. Just a few lust-worthy guys who he lost interest in within a few days and moved on from without a second thought.

_That's just what Dean is. _Castiel thought to himself reassuringly._ Just another person you're attracted to and nothing more._

He nodded to himself and smiled, actually feeling a little better. He wasn't going to let some green eyed beauty ruin his last year of high school. He was going to have fun, he was going to make this year count for something.

His mother came up to his room telling him it was time for dinner and as he made his way down the stairs he couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

If he was going to make this a year to remember, he was going to have to make some small changes.

_No_. He thought backtracking_. BIG changes_. He sat down at the table next to Anna not bothering to hide the mischievous grin forming on his lips. _Go big or go home_.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Alright guys, here's the next chapter :D I'm slowly getting back into the groove of writing so just bear with me a little bit. I will try to update as soon as possible, probably a few days in between depending on the mood. But anyways, hope you like it! :D xoxo**

Dean waited by his beloved car for his younger brother to come out of the building. The lot was almost completely empty now with the acceptation of a few cars, probably teachers.

He subconsciously rubbed away a smudge that was in his baby's paint and looked back up at the school sighing impatiently. Where is that little nerd? He thought leaning against the hood and yawning.

He was about to just give in and go into the school to look for the little twerp himself when he saw the doors open and his brother immerged. Head down, shaggy hair covering his eyes, and his bag slung over his shoulder.

Dean couldn't believe how big the kid was getting. He was only fourteen and already he was growing like a weed. Dean crunched his brow as his brother got closer, knowing immediately by his stance that something was up.

When Sam finally got to the car Dean kicked his brothers shoe to get his attention. Sam looked up meeting his brothers concerned gaze reluctantly, big puppy dog eyes wide and…bruised! Dean's eyes widened as he saw his brothers swollen black eye and ground his teeth together furiously.

_Who the fuck did that to your face?_ He signed to his brother, hands moving so fast Sam had to take a few seconds to interpret what he said.

If someone hurt his little brother they were going to have hell to pay, he thought, anger rising in his chest uncontrollably. Nobody messes with Dean Winchesters baby brother. Nobody.

"It's not a big deal, Dean." Sam muttered sheepishly looking back down to his shoes.

Dean lifted his brothers chin up to get him to look at him again as he asked him something else,

_Is the bastard still in the building? _

Sam turned his head to the side nervously, and that was all that Dean needed as he started strutting back to the school, fist balled at his sides, eyes wide with fury. _This fuckers gonna' pay._ He thought pushing through the doors, ignoring his brothers yell and pleads to just leave it alone.

He made his way hurridly down the hallway looking every which way for the mother fucker that had harmed Sammy. He caught sight of a few kids at the end of the hallway, all laughing over something and talking loudly.

"-the little fucker stood his ground, I'll give him that." he heard one of them say

"-he didn't even cry when you punched him in the face!" one of them laughed shoving his friend playfully.

Dean's nostrils flared as he made his way towards the group, face red with anger and adrenaline. The kids saw him making his way towards their group and immediately fell silent as he stopped in front of them.

"Uh, yeah?" asked a kid with longish dark hair and a nose that was way to big for his face. Dean glared at him, forcing the kid silent. He then turned his attention to the one who punched his brother in the face. The guy looked back at him confused,

"You got a problem?" The guy asked finally. Dean wanted to yell and cuss the little fucker out, but his voice, of course, wouldn't allow him. So instead he grabbed the kid ruffly by his collar and slammed his back against the locker to where they were both nose to nose.

The group immediately backed up with a shocked gasp.

"What the fuck, man!" he shouted grabbing at Dean's hands in a failed attempt to free himself. "What the fuck is your-" Dean slammed him against the locker again, harder this time before he could finish his sentence, silencing him.

"Dean, stop!" Sam yelled, running up to the altercation, "Leave it alone, I can handle myself!" He yelled at his brother who was still holding the bully tightly by his shirt. Dean glanced over at his little brothers pleading face. He snarled letting the kid drop back to the ground. The bully rubbed his sore chest and chuckled as Dean turned to walk away.

"Oh yeah, have your brother fight your battles for ya', eh Winchester." The bully yelled to their backs " Psh, heard the dude can't even talk." He said arrogantly giving his friends a shit-eating grin, and without any kind of warning, a fist crushed against the ass holes face. The guy yelped as Dean grabbed him by his shirt and threw him to the ground getting on top of him and throwing punches, each meeting the guys surprised face without hesitation. Dean only saw red, he wasn't going to stand for anyone hurting his family. What was left of it, anyways.

After a few more punches he felt hands on his back roughly pulling him off of the now, nearly unconscious, bully. Dean fell back on the ground, breathing heavily as his brother kept him in a firm grip as to make sure he wouldn't start in again on the bludgeoned guy in front of him.

He snarled pushing Sam off of him and getting to his feet. He gave one last warning glance to the group and then turned away, Sam trailing behind.

"I can't believe you just fucking did that, Dean!" Sam hissed as Dean put his car in neutral and backed out of the lot. He kept his eyes straight ahead, not sparing a glance at his fuming little brother. Sam sighed slumping down further in the seat and shaking his head. "This was an amazing first day." He mumbled sarcastically leaning his head on the window glumly.

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After dinner, Castiel made his way up the stairs to his brothers room. He knocked on the door a couple of times before turning the knob to reveal a half naked Gabriel.

"Woah!" Gabriel shouted hastily putting his towel in front of his junk to at least leave some to the imagination., "What the hell, bro? Can't a man change without his little brother kicking his door down?" Castiel glared rolling his eyes and turned his back to Gabriel so he could get some clothes on.

"Okay!" Gabriel said clapping his hands together when he was fully clothed, "What's up, kiddo'?" he asked plopping down on his bed. Castiel walked over and sat down at Gabriel's feet, biting his lip nervously as he tried to think of how to put it. After a few minutes of contemplating, he sighed and turned to meet his brothers curious gaze,

"I need you to help me with something." He spit out.

Gabriel's eyebrows shot up surprised, "Okaayy?" he drew out unsure, "With?"

Castiel sighed laying back and crossing his arms behind his head,

"I kinda' wanted you to like…help me pick out an outfit." He paused, "I want to change my style to something…I don't know…cooler. Instead of just my usual plain t-shirts and jeans." He waited for his brother to start barking with laughter, but instead he felt a soft hand on his shoulder and looked up to see a giant smile plastered across his older brothers face.

"I can do better than that, Cassy." Gabriel insisted standing up from his bed and heading towards his own closet, "I'm going to re-invent your whole wardrobe."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

When Dean and Sam got home Sam immediately ran into his room and slammed his door. Dean rolled his eyes and walked to the fridge, throwing his keys on the counter and grabbing a beer. As he shut the fridge he looked up to see Bobby leaning against the door frame.

"What has Sam's knickers in a bunch?" he asked eyeing the beer in Dean's underage hands but figuring he'll let it pass, counting as an award for Dean making it through his first day of his new school.

Dean shrugged and cast his eyes down guiltily.

"Don't give me that." Bobby remarked moving to stand in front of Dean to get a good look at him.

"s' that your blood, or am I gonna' have to help you bury a body?" He asked gesturing to the dark red stains that splotched his adopted sons shirt.

Dean shook his head and twisted the cap off the beer taking a giant swig. Bobby frowned and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Idjit." he muttered as he pulled open a drawer pulling out a note pad and a pen slapping it down on the counter in front of dean,

"Tell me what happened." He commanded. "And I want the truth, boy." he added.

Dean gave out an annoyed sigh and reluctantly picked up the pen. He wrote down everything from seeing Sam's black eye, to nearly beating the bully to death in front of all his friends.

Bobby ran his eyes down the paper quickly. Shaking his head in disbelief and crumbling it up tossing it in the trash. Dean prepared himself to be scolded, but to his surprise, Bobby put his hand on his shoulders and squeezed comfortingly.

"I know it's been a hard run for you and Sam these past couple of months." Bobby spoke as Dean turned his head to the side, feeling a slight twist in his gut, "And I know how protective you are over him, and that you would sell your own soul to make sure that he stays safe. But I want you to try and stay out of trouble, you hear me?" Dean nodded, still not meeting Bobby's eyes. "I told your mom that I would make sure you boys were raised right, and I'm not going back on that. I know I'm not your father. But you and Sam are the closest things that I've ever had to sons, and I want to see you boys move on to bigger and better things. Family doesn't end in blood, and you two are the only family this old geezers got."

Dean nodded his head feeling his throat constrict as he took in Bobby's words. It wasn't normal for Bobby to show affection like this, so Dean knew not to take it with a grain of salt. He was going to do his best to get his head straight and do good in school, and try not to get into any more brawls.

Bobby gave his shoulder one last squeeze and then took his hand away. He turned to walk away, but then paused, glancing back at Dean,

"I'm guessing you beat the kids ass pretty good, huh?" he said smirking slightly. Dean looked up shocked and nodded slowly.

"Good." Bobby huffed before turning away and walking out of the room. Dean shook his head in disbelief and grinned to himself. He had to admit, Bobby was a good guy. A grumpy old man, that's for sure, but underneath that tough exterior was a shit load of good intentions, and Dean promised himself that one day, if he ever found his voice again, he would thank Bobby for all he's done for them.

Because Family doesn't end in blood.


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, this chapter kind of sucks but I'm trying to build up the story a bit and I'm tired as fuck today for some reason…But I hope you guys enjoy this one regardless! Thanks for all the feedback I really appreciate it, and keep it coming :D**

Gabriel pulled into the school the next day cutting the engine and turning to his brother sitting restlessly in the passenger seat.

"You remember what I told you: Play it cool, be confident and stay calm. Everything else is just common sense."

Castiel nodded and fidgeted with the strap on his book bag, biting his lip anxiously.

"Are you sure this isn't too much?" He asked his brother as he contemplated running back home and changing into his usual attire in which he was comfortable in.

Gabriel gave him a stern look, obviously reading his mind.

"Don't be a bitch, Castiel." He said earning a glare from his younger brother but choosing to ignore it, "I didn't stay up all night re-designing that disgrace you called a wardrobe just so you could pussy out and go back to shy, meek, little Cas!"

Cas stared at his brother shocked at his outburst as Gabriel continued,

"You are going to walk into that school, and make those mother fuckers jaws drop and possibly a couple of panties while you're at it." Gabriel added with a chuckle, "Don't end this before it starts. You want this year to be good, right?"

Castiel sighed and nodded.

"Then get the fuck out of my car and remember what I said."

Castiel did as he was told and slammed the door behind him. He felt his stomach flutter excitedly as he adjustd his bag on his shoulder and headed to the building. He stopped in front of the door and let out a deep breath,

_Here goes nothing._ He thought, and pushed through the door.

Immediately a hush fell over the crowded hallway as people gaped at the new Castiel. He stopped and looked around nervously as everyone stared, eyeing his new style from head to toe.

He wore a thin, black leather jacket over a gray polo that was unbuttoned at the collar, dark wash skinny jeans that led all the way down to his expensive black leather dress shoes (which he thought might have been too much but after a couple of threats from Gabriel, he decided to just give in). His hair was messier than usual, giving him the whole 'I just had sex' look and the grey from his shirt made his blue eyes even brighter than usual.

He felt a shove from behind and turned to see his brother Gabriel who had somehow ended up behind him,

"Strut your ass up that hallway before I shove you into a fucking locker."

Castiel rolled his eyes at his brothers threat and gulped.

_Show 'em what you're made of_. He thought giving himself his own pep talk. He twisted his mouth into a wide grin and ran his hand through his hair. He threw a girl standing a few feet away from him a quick wink and she held her hands over her face and giggled. He didn't have to look back to know that his brother was nodding in approval.

He shoved his hands in his pockets still smirking and started down the hallway again. People slowly moved out of his way as he walked by, reminding him of Moses when he parted the red sea. He couldn't help but feel like he was in some sort of corny high school movie.

Head held high and his blue eyes sparkling he made his way to his locker where Jo was already waiting for him.

She gaped at her best friend, hardly even recognizing him when he stopped in front of her and held his arms out to his sides, presenting himself.

"Well," he asked, "What do you think?"

Jo stared eyes wide, jaw agape, as she scoped him out slowly.

"Cas," She said finally, "You're hot!" His smile widened at her words and he felt a huge wave of relief wash over him.

"I mean, you've always been hot." She said still staring in disbelief, "But now you're…like…_hot_." He was about to thank her when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He nearly fell backwards as he came face to face with Dean.

Dean's mouth fell open slightly as he took in Cas's new style. Castel felt his face heat up at Dean's strong gaze, but then he remembered what Gabriel told him and held his face up to meet Dean's eyes dead on.

Dean looked Castiel over for a second more then broke out into a dazzling smile,

_Looking good, dude._ He signed giving Cas a nod of approval. Castiel told himself inwardly that if he blushed at that fucking compliment then he would save Gabriel the trouble and shove himself in a locker for him.

"Thanks, Dean." He said sincerely, then, feeling daring, added, "You don't look so bad yourself." before winking, turning around, putting his arm around Jo, and walking away. Leaving a flustered Dean standing by his locker rubbing his neck as a blush crept across his cheeks.

"What the fuck was that?" She asked stunned. Cas just shrugged his shoulders casually,

"Just messing around." He said smoothly, trying to ignore the giddy feeling that was building in his chest as he walked by a group of girls who immediately started checking him out and whispering excitedly to one another.

Jo rolled her eyes "Looks like you've caught a few peoples attention." She laughed shaking her head. He chuckled and shrugged again, as if it wasn't that big of a deal.

His heart was still beating furiously after the encounter he just had with Dean. But he immediatly got a sinking feeling as he realized that he had to face him again in just a few minutes. _Fuck, I forgot I had first period with him._ He thought groaning inwardly.

Now he was going to have to face Dean for a whole hour and a half after he just blatantly hit on him.

_ Whatever, you've got this. Own it. Let him know what he's missing._ He thought re-assuringly as the bell rang signaling first period.

He bid Jo goodbye and made his way to his class, smirking along the way as people he had never even talked to before said hello to him.

When he walked into the classroom and sat in his desk Ash glanced up at him from his computer and his eyes widened,

"Who are you and what the hell have you done to Castiel Novak?"

Castiel laughed and rolled his eyes at his friend,

"I figured it was time for some…minor improvements." He stated. Ash nodded and gave him a thumbs up,

"Well, good for you man. Just don't hog all the babes, leave some for the rest of us." Castiel snorted at the irony of his friends comment but said nothing more.

He heard a chair pull out beside him and turned to see Dean sitting down.

He shot Castiel a wry smile and chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Castiel asked suddenly defensive and a tad annoyed. Dean shook his head and smiled,

_Well, look at you. Lady killer._

Castiel blushed,

"I don't know what you're talking about." He muttered turning away from Dean and crossing his arms stubbornly over his chest.

Dean let out a loud laugh that rang through the classroom, and Castiel couldn't help but feel shocked at actually hearing some sort of noise emitting from the guy.

Dean kicked Catiel lightly to get his attention,

"What." He snapped, face still red from the lady killer comment.

_Is your friend single?_ Dean signed. Castiel felt a sick twist in his gut.

"Which one?" He asked, playing dumb. He knew damn well which one.

_Pam._ Dean spelled out, then added,_ She's pretty hot._

Castiel rolled his eyes in disgust and nodded, "Yes, she's single." He answered kicking his legs out in front of him and leaning back comfortably in his chair. _You're blowing it._ A voice in the back of his head said. _Stop being a bitch._

He then bit his lip and glanced over at Dean who was staring at him quizzically.

"See something you like?" he asked, voice low, startling Dean, as a flirtatious grin formed on Cas's mouth.

Dean's eyes widened in shock and he opened his mouth and then shut it again, his neck and ears turning bright red.

Castiel chuckled and winked before turning his attention back to the front of the room. _ So all I have to do is throw out some corny one liners to the guy and he shuts up. _ He thought to himself in amusement_. Simple enough._

The rest of the class went by exceptionally fast and before he knew it the bell rang for second period. He got up, throwing his bag over his shoulder and walked quickly out of the classroom. He didn't make it far before he felt a hand grab his arm and pull him back.

"What the he-" He started but then he found himself eye to eye with a furious looking Dean and his mouth snapped shut.

_What are you doing?_ Dean signed hastily, lips pressed tightly together as he waited for Castiel's reply.

"Um, going to class." Cas replied innocently, knowing that that's not what Dean meant.

Dean rolled his eyes,

_No, I mean what the fuck is your problem?_

Castiel let out a humorless laugh,

"What's the matter Dean? Is your gay panic getting the best of you?" He knew the words were a little too harsh as soon as they were out of his mouth but he couldn't find it in him to care at the moment.

Dean took a step back and looked as if Castiel had just punched him in the face, before composing himself and giving Castiel a smug grin,

_Get your head out of your ass, Castiel because you seemed pretty content with staring at mine._

Castiel felt his face start burning and his hands turn into fist at his sides

"Fuck you." He hissed through his teeth.

Dean chuckled bitterly

_You wish._ He signed before shoving his hands in his pockets, turning on his heel and stalking down the hallway.

Cas stared after him, shooting daggers with his eyes in disbelief. _What an asshole!_ He thought furiously. But then his anger faded and was replaced with fear._ Shit. Shit shit shit._ he thought as he felt bile rising in his throat.

Dean knew. Dean knew that he was gay. And now he was probably going to tell everyone. He shuttered as he thought about what his friends reactions would probably be.

"Fuck." He cursed under his breath. This was not good.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Castiel spent the entirety of his next few classes staring at the clock and tapping his foot anxiously. He wanted to hurry up and get to lunch so he could see if word of his sexuality had gotten around to his friends yet.

When the bell finally rang he nearly sprinted to the cafeteria, bumping into a few people on the way. He spotted his friends in their usual spot and sheepishly made his way towards them.

Chuck was the first one to see him, "Hey Cas, diggin' the leather jacket, it's bad ass."

Cas glanced at his friends one by one seeing nothing out of the norm and sighed with relief. Jo noticed and quirked her eye brow,

"You okay?" She asked.

Cas laughed and nodded as he pulled out his chair and sat down.

"Yeah I'm good. Just glad to be out of that class." He lied. His friends shared a look and then shrugged.

"Alrighty." Jo said as she stabbed into her salad with her fork.

"Hey Cas," Pam said from across him, "Your ass looks mighty fine in those jeans." She said smirking and winking at him. He rolled his eyes at her but couldn't stop the amused smile that broke out onto his face.

He was still a little aggravated with Pam, but he couldn't ever stay mad at her even if he wanted to.

His good mood didn't last long though. As his friends were getting into an argument over what the best action movie of all time was, he glanced up to see Dean heading his way.

Cas stiffened and scowled as Dean stopped in front of their table staring at Cas with an expressionless face.

"Hey Dean." Pamela said seductively looking up and smiling wickedly. Dean glanced at her and nodded in acknowledgment and then looked back to Cas. Pam frowned, looking dejected before sighing and turning back to her friends conversation.

Castiel glared at Dean and sighed, annoyance evident in his voice,

"What do you want, Dean?"

Dean rubbed the back of his neck before bringing his hands in front of him to sign,

_Can we talk? _

Castiel felt the urge to tell Dean to fuck off, but thought better of it. He hesitated before nodding,

"Fine." he muttered. He stood up, telling his friends that he'd be right back before following Dean out of the cafeteria.

Dean led him to the bathroom, which was empty with the acceptation of a couple of urinals.

"So," Castiel began crossing his arms self-consciously over his chest, "what do you want?"

Dean sighed and ran his hand through his hair nervously.

_Sorry about what I said earlier. It was uncalled for and I was kind of being a dick. _

Castiel raised his eyebrows surprised. Dean just apologized to him….Well, that was uncalled for.

"Um…It's uh…It's fine." Castiel stuttered out still slightly caught off guard. Deans shoulders seemed to relax as he sighed with relief and smiled back up at Cas gratefully.

_Damn him and his stupid gorgeous fucking face , _Cas thought. He cleared his throat awkwardly,

"Um, I'm sorry too…For…you know." He apologized glancing down to his shoes shyly.

Cas suddenly felt a hand lift his chin up and ended up looking straight into those bright green eyes he so despised and yet, adored. He could smell Dean's cologne and feel his breath lightly brush across his cheek. Cas glanced down to Dean's lips and then back up to his eyes.

They stood like that for a few more seconds before they heard voices getting near. Then Dean dropped his hand quickly and sprung back, looking around the bathroom nervously. Castiel felt light headed all of a sudden and he could hear his heart pounding loudly in his own ears.

_Look, Cas,You're really cool and everything but I'm straight._ Dean signed not wanting to look up and meet Castiel's gaze.

Castiel felt his heart sink and suddenly felt uncomfortably exposed.

Dean whistled for Cas to look at him and Cas reluctantly lifted his head to meet Dean's concerned eyes.

_You're not mad at me are you? _

Castiel sighed and forced out a soft smile, even though he felt like he was about to vomit, "No, Dean, I'm not mad at you."

It was worth it when Dean's face immediately lit up, smiling brightly showing off all his teeth. He nodded excitedly and gestured out in front of him for Cas to lead the way out of the bathroom.

As they both turned to leave, Castiel halted and turned to face Dean again, who quirked an eyebrow at him questioningly.

"Um." Castiel started unsure, his voice barely a whisper, "Would you mind…Not telling anyone…About me being gay." Dean looked taken aback, searching Castiel's face for something.

_He hasn't told anyone?_ Dean thought to himself suddenly feeling a weird since of protectiveness coming over him. He looked into Castiel's wide pleading blue eyes and gave him a soft smile.

_I won't tell anyone, you have my word. _

Castiel smiled with so much relief that Dean let out a small chuckle. He reached up and laid his hand on Castiel's shoulder giving him a comforting squeeze as the bell rang.

Castiel cursed the timing and looked back to Dean.

"Shall we walk to class?" He asked smiling wide now. Dean grinned happily and nodded his head.

Both boys walked to their next class happily by each others sides.

But deep in the back of their minds, neither boy could help but wonder what in the world they had gotten themselves into.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay guys, here's the next chapter :) I had to walk away from the computer for a little bit because I started tearing up while writing the first part lol But yeah, I hope you like it! Enjoy :D xoxo**

Sam was still mad about the fight from the day before when he got into Dean's car after school. Dean felt like he should feel guilty about the whole situation, but he couldn't bring himself to. Out of all the things he regretted in his life, protecting Sammy would never be one of them.

When he figured Sam was still giving him the silent treatment, he sighed, started up the impala, and sped out of the schools lot.

Dean couldn't stop thinking about those big, sparkling blue eyes.

_I wonder why he hasn't told anyone that he's gay. It's not that big of a deal._

He thought to himself as he subconsciously tapped his finger on the steering wheel.

_But then again, Why haven't you? _

He shook the thought out of his head quickly, gripping the steering wheel tighter and grinding his teeth together in frustration.

He wasn't gay. He couldn't be gay. No, he liked girls, he liked girls a lot. Yeah, he admitted, Castiel was attractive….With his bed head, and his gruff voice, and his piercing blue eyes that looked like they were staring right through to his very soul. But that didn't mean anything…He had grown out of that phase long ago. Or he thought he did, anyways.

_"NO son of mine is going to be no fag!"_ Dean flinched as he heard his dad's words echoing through his head. Then the flashbacks started.

_Shouting. The sound of glass breaking. Sam crying._

Dean shook his head, trying to shake the memories away to no avail. He was biting his lip so hard that he could taste his blood.

"Dean?" Sam's voice filled the car, concern replacing the hostility he had felt just minutes before. "Are you okay?"

Dean took a deep shuttering breath, and nodded. He wasn't going to have one of his episodes. Not while he was fucking driving with Sammy in the passenger seat.

_"What would your mom have thought of her son liking dick? Huh? Look at me when I'm talking to you boy!"_

Dean felt tears stinging the back of his eyes. It had suddenly got harder for him to breath and suddenly his car seemed to small.

_Blood running down his face as his father held him by the throat, cutting off his air flow. Sam in fetal position in the corner crying, begging his dad to stop._

Dean pulled over on the side of the road and let out a choked sob.

"Dean?" Sam asked worriedly, eyes wide as he stared at his older brother falling apart beside him.

Dean couldn't look at him. His breath came out in shuttered burst as he tried to control himself. He felt beads of sweat forming across his forehead. His blood was pumping loudly in his ears.

He put his head down on the steering wheel and tried to control his breathing. He couldn't keep doing this. This was getting to be too much. He let out another loud sob as his tears finally spilled over.

He felt warm arms suddenly wrap around his shoulders, pulling him into gentle embrace.

"Shh, it's okay, you're okay, Dean." Sammy whispered rubbing small circles into his back. Dean clutched onto Sam's arm as if it were a life preserver and leaned into him, his whole body shaking furiously.

"We're going to be okay." Sam whispered again, now trying to fight back his own tears. He hated seeing his big brother like this. Just-falling apart and broken.

Sam couldn't help but feel an overwhelming hatred towards his father for doing this to them.

For coming home every night throwing his drunken temper tantrums. For taking all the hurt he felt after their mothers death and placing it on them. For being violent, and cruel and fucking twisted. But what Sam hated his father for the most, was for taking it all out on Dean.

Now here they were. Two brothers huddled together, crying on the side of the rode. Both of them too young to do anything about what they're feeling, and too old to pretend that everything is fine, when clearly-it isn't.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Castiel got home that evening feeling as if he just got off cloud nine. He had been hit on multiple times that day and even gotten a few numbers. He obviously wasn't planning on actually putting any of them to use, but he was flattered none the less.

While the day had gone by pretty smooth (not counting the angry confrontation from Dean, of course) he couldn't help but feel a little let down.

He was sure that for a moment there in the bathroom, Dean was going to kiss him. But then the guys mood did a total 360 and next thing he knew, he was telling Castiel that he was straight.

Castiel sighed and made his way up the stairs. _ That guy is going to end up giving me a complex by the time this year is over_, he thought, chuckling to himself. But he had to admit that he was glad they were on good terms again. Dean was a pretty nice guy…Kind of temperamental and confusing at times, but friendly in his own weird way.

He was still curious as to why Dean couldn't talk though. Dean did look like the kind of guy who would have a past, but then again, that could just be Castiel jumping to conclusions.

When he got to his room he wasn't surprised to see Anna waiting for him. She was sprawled out on his bed flipping through a fashion magazine.

He plopped down on his bed beside her and sighed. Anna closed her magazine and sat up cocking her head at her brother.

_What's up?_ She signed quirking an eyebrow. He shrugged and shook his head. Anna crossed her arms and threw her brother her best bitch face, showing him that she didn't buy it. He sighed and sat up smiling affectionately at his little sister.

_Let's drive into town and get some ice cream or something._ He signed back, hoping that the temptation of a frozen treat would be enough to distract his red headed sibling from his weird mood.

Her face immediately brightened and she jumped off his bed excitedly,

_Alright, let me get on my shoes._ She signed before running out of his room. Castiel laughed and rolled his eyes at how easy it was to please his little sister.

Ever since their father had walked out on them awhile back, Gabe and Cas had taken it upon themselves to look after their mom and sister with the best of their ability. Castiel didn't mind, he loved his family just the way it was. But he sometimes found himself wishing that his father would just- show back up one day and they could all just be together like one big happy family and just be…_normal_.

Gabriel, on the other hand, could care less if he ever saw the bastards face again. As far as he was concerned, their father had abandoned them long ago and he wasn't coming back.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The next day when Castiel got to school, he couldn't wait to get to class. He didn't know why, but he had the overwhelming desire to get to know the guy on a deeper level. Even if they were just friends, he would take what he could get.

He was rushing through the hallway so fast that he barely saw it coming when he smacked right into a freshman, sending both of them flying to the ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Cas apologized as the kids books and papers splattered across the ground.

"It's fine, no harm done." He replied kindly as Castiel hastily started helping him pick up his books. When they stood up the kid smiled at Castiel,

"I'm Sam, by the way." Castiel smiled back,

"I'm Castiel. Castiel Novak."

Sam's mouth dropped open in surprise, "You're Castiel?" He asked. Castiel nodded his head skeptically, suddenly self conscious. "You know sign language, right?" It was Castiel's turn to be shocked,

"Um, yeah, how did you-"

"My brother Dean told me about you." he answered cutting him off, "You seem like a pretty swell guy from what I hear." Sam complimented smiling as Castiel's face turned a whole new shade of red.

"Uh, well thank you. I didn't know Dean had a brother." Castiel replied honestly.

Sam chuckled, "I'm the smarter one." Castiel laughed as they started down the hallway together.

"So, how do you like it here so far?" he asked politely. Sam shrugged his shoulders,

"It's not bad I guess. It's better than where we used to live." Castiel glanced at him curiously.

"Where was that?" He asked.

"Kansas. We moved here over the summer. After-" Sam paused, suddenly looking uncomfortable, "After some stuff happened." he finished, face turning red. Castiel figured it was probably a sore subject so he didn't push it and changed the subject,

"You seem a little…tall to be a freshman." Castiel threw out as he glanced over at the 14 year old boy who was somehow taller than he was.

"Hey, I eat my veggies. Otherwise, Dean threatens to force feed me, and even though I'm bigger than he is, I'm not going to take that chance." Castiel chuckled at the visualization of Dean spoon feeding the giant 14 year old. Then the bell rang.

Him and Sam said their farewells before heading off to their classes in opposite directions.

As Castiel sat down in his usual seat next to Ash he couldn't help but to ponder over Sam's words

_"-We moved here over the summer. After…After some stuff happened."_

He frowned, the Winchesters were a puzzle, that's for sure. He looked up to see Dean walk into the classroom. His face was hard, expression blank. He made his way to the other side of the room, not even sparing a glance Castiel's way, and took a seat by the window.

Castiel stared at the back of his head confused and a tad hurt. He leaned back in his desk and scrunched his brow in frustration,

"Like I said." He grumbled to himself, "He's giving me a fucking complex."

"I'll tell you what's complex." Ash said, interrupting Cas's silent reverie. "I cannot crack the school's database to change the grade on my science quiz from yesterday. I was able to track the IP address that helped me sneak a peak at all of NASA's classified files-aliens are real, by the way- but I can't crack this stupid passcode to save my life!" Ash sighed and shook his head forlornly, "Looks like I'm losing my mojo."

Cas stared open mouthed at his friend and shook his head,

"I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear anything you just said so that I don't have to wake up in the middle of the night to the CIA kicking down my door."

Ash nodded, "Yeah that's probably best." and went back to typing and mumbling profanities under his breath.

"Hey guys!" Pam exclaimed excitedly rushing to the back of the room, books in hand.

"Uh, hey Pam. What are you doing in here?" Castiel asked confused. Pamela shrugged,

"I changed my schedule. It was either this or computer science." She explained wrinkling her nose. "Hey." She said lowering her voice and leaning closer to Cas, "Doesn't Dean have this class?" She asked with a mischievous smile.

Castiel scowled, getting an uneasy feeling in the pool of his stomach.

"Yeah. He's over there." He muttered gesturing to the desk that Dean was currently occupying. Pam glanced over and back to Cas.

"I'm going in, wish me luck." She said giving Cas a wink before walking over and taking a seat in the empty seat beside Dean.

Castiel slumped in his chair and leaned his head back on the wall sighing. _Well, today is going to be spectacular_, he thought to himself sarcastically.

The rest of the class consisted of Castiel shooting daggers at the back of Pam and Dean's heads as they both passed a notebook back and forth to each other (since Pam doesn't know sign language and that's the only way they could have a conversation) Pam would occasionally read something Dean wrote and start giggling as if it were the funniest thing in the world.

Suddenly, Castiel felt sick. He stood up from his desk loudly scooting his chair back, and nearly speed walking to the door.

"Castiel, where do you think you're going?" Ms. Beth called after him as he reached for the knob.

"I uh, I feel sick." He said hastily, opening the door and running out into the hallway before she could object.

He was almost halfway down the hall when he heard fast footsteps coming up behind him. He turned around to see Dean trying to catch up. Castiel rolled his eyes and turned back around and continued down the hall, ignoring Dean as he finally caught up to him

"Go away, Dean." He said finally after a few seconds of awkward silence. Dean grabbed his arm gently and Cas sighed loudly and stopped walking.

"What!" He snapped. Dean stepped back, frowning slightly.

_What's the matter?_ Dean signed, forcing Castiel to chuckle bitterly and turn away.

"I'm sick." He lied simply.

_Bull-shit._ Dean signed not missing a beat.

"It doesn't really matter because it's none of your concern." Castiel replied venomously.

Dean's eyes narrowed,

_I thought we were cool._

"Yeah, I thought so too." Castiel rebutted angrily before storming away leaving behind a confused looking Dean. His heart was beating loudly in his chest and he wanted desperately to punch something. He knew he was being stupid, but he couldn't help it. Even though Pam had no clue about Castiel's feelings, he couldn't help but feel a slight hint of betrayal.

He stormed into the bathroom and nearly ran over Andy who was wearing his letterman jacket and had a sharpie in his hand.

"Oh, hey Castiel." he greeted shoving the sharpie in his pocket and grinning.

"Uh, hey Andy…What are you doing?" He asked eyeing the sharpie in the jocks pocket curiously.

Andy laughed, "Oh, just showing a little school spirit." He answered pointing to the sink at the far end of the bathroom which had **'FUCK SCHOOL**' Written in bold black print. Castiel raised an eyebrow,

"Wow, how original." He stated letting out a small chuckle. Andy shrugged,

"Yeah, yeah not my best work but I was in the mood to vandalize something."

Castiel grinned amused at the buff quarterback and held his hands up in front of him,

"Hey, no judgment here."

"Thanks." Andy laughed, "Anyways, you should come to my party Friday. My parents are out of town and I'm celebrating surviving the first week back at school."

Castiel was stunned silent for a moment. He had never really talked to Andy before, mainly because their groups never really ran in the same circle, so he was shocked that Andy had personally invited him to his house after only a few minutes of chit-chat in the boys bathroom.

"Um yeah, sure, I'll be there." Castiel said smiling gratefully.

Andy nodded and broke into a grin himself, "Cool, I'll see you then." he was heading out of the bathroom and then turned around, pausing, "Oh, bring your friends too. They seem cool." Before giving Castiel one last friendly smile and walking out of the bathroom.

Castiel stood there for a moment and shook his head in disbelief. He knew his friends were going to be psyched when he told them about the party and couldn't wait for lunch time. He was in such high spirits after that, that he was able to put the 'Dean situation' to the side…At least for the moment, anyways.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Dean didn't sit by Castiel in World history that day, and they didn't talk for the rest of the week. Before Castiel knew it, it was Friday evening and he was standing in front of his full length mirror giving himself one more once over before giving his reflection a satisfied nod and making his way to his brothers room.

"You ready?" He asked as Gabriel gelled his hair back skillfully and winked at himself in the mirror before turning to examine his brothers outfit.

Castiel wore a dark blue button down that had a couple of buttons undone at the top with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, dark skinny jeans, and the dress shoes he wore earlier that week.

Gabriel moved his eyes over Castiel, mentally critiquing his brothers outfit before nodding in approval, "Not bad, Kiddo, not bad." Castiel flushed and smiled.

"Thanks." He said, "Are we going yet or what?" He asked fidgeting with the bottom of his shirt as his body shook with anticipation. Gabriel chuckled before moving to stand in front of his brother

"Woah, woah, woah." He exclaimed, "First things first, you planning on getting laid tonight?" Castiel gasped and his cheeks heated caught fire.

"Wh-what? Gabriel, what the hell?" He stuttered out glancing nervously to the side not meeting his brothers scrutinizing gaze.

"Come on don't be such a virgin, Cassy." Gabriel teased as Castiel glared at him annoyed. "It's about time you cashed in your V-card little bro'." He said patting his brother on the shoulder twice before pushing past him, "Well, let's get going my innocent little flower." He called over his shoulder as Castiel groaned at how embarrassing his brother was and followed him down the stairs.

When they got to Andy's house it was already packed with people. A few people greeted Castiel as he walked into the house, surprised that he had actually showed up. He scanned the room for any sign of his friends and found them over by the couch talking animatedly to each other. He smiled and walked over.

"Hey, guys."

"Woah, hey Mr. Sexy. You're looking nice tonight." Jo exclaimed with a playful wink. Castiel laughed,

"You don't look to bad yourself, Madame."

"Aren't you going to tell me how pretty I look?" Chuck asked with mock offence.

"You look beautiful, Chuck." Castiel complimented. Chuck let out a girly giggle and fluttered his eyelashes. Castiel punched his friend in the shoulder playfully.

"Hey, that's no way to treat a lady!" Ash exclaimed flicking Castiel in the head. The group fell into hysterics before Castiel noticed someone missing.

"Hey, where's Pam?" He asked scanning the crowd for any glimpse of his friend.

Jo shrugged, "I think she went off with Dean somewhere. He looked pretty smashed."

Castiel felt his stomach drop. _ Pam was off with Dean. Dean was off with Pam. Dean and Pam were together somewhere doing who knows what. _

Was the room spinning, or was it just him?

"Uh, Cas, you feeling okay?" Chuck asked, "You look like you're about to vomit and you haven't even drank anything yet."

Castiel nodded numbly, "Yeah-yeah I'm okay." He answered, paying no mind to his friends concerned looks. "But, drinking sounds pretty good right now." He said searching the room for any sight of Dean and Pam. He couldn't find them.

"Well." Ash said clapping his hands together, startling Cas out of his trance, "Let's go find us some shots!" The group whooped in excitement and headed to the kitchen, Castiel putting on a some-what believable poker-face so he wasn't called out on being a party pooper.

Ash poured them all some shots and Castiel knocked it back ignoring the burn in the back of his throat as he gulped it down. Then he had another-and another-and another…To the point where he just stopped counting.

"Woah, Cas, when it comes to alcohol you don't play!" Chuck laughed as Castiel swayed slightly, grabbing the counter for balance.

"I need-to piss." He slurred, as he stumbled out of the kitchen and through the crowded room of drunken, dancing people.

He made his way of the stairs holding onto the railing for dear life. When he finally made it to the top alive, he sighed with relief and carefully walked down the hallway, stepping over passed out classmates and empty beer bottles.

He opened each door he came across on his quest to find the bathroom until he made it to the last one. He sighed irritably and turned the knob stumbling through the door. He cursed and was about to shut the door behind him when he jumped back startled.

Dean and Pam sat on the edge of the bathtub, arms around each other as their lips interlocked drunkenly. Castiel let out a loud gasp and Pam pulled back and glanced over to see her friends standing before her wide eyed,

"Cas?" She asked confused. At the mention of his name Dean's head snapped over, meeting Castiel's blood shot eyes and immediately sprang up.

Castiel backed up slowly, grasping the wall for support but tripped over a towel that was thrown carelessly over a wet spot (probably beer…he hoped)and fell backwards, landing on his back and knocking the air out of him.

Dean was immediately at his side, kneeling down beside him staring down at Cas with concern. Cas stared up into his crush's bright green eyes, and turned away. Groaning slightly as pushed himself up onto his elbows.

Dean reached out his hand to help but Castiel flinched away,

"Don't touch me!" He hissed making Dean flinch back, startled. Castiel stood up quickly, stumbling a couple of times, and dusted himself off.

Dean stood up beside him, face still scrunched with worry. Castiel looked from Dean, to Pam's confused face then back to Dean feeling nauseous. He had to get out of there.

He quickly turned and hurried down the hallway. He nearly fell down the stairs twice but thankfully made it to the bottom without incident.

He walked through the living room ignoring peoples protest as he rudely pushed them out of his way.

When he had finally gotten outside he breathed in the fresh night air and then let it out shakily. He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. He would be lying if he said that it didn't hurt.

He suddenly felt a warm hand on his back and spun around nearly knocking Dean backwards. He followed me? Castiel thought in disbelief. Dean stared at him then down to his shoes, biting his lip nervously. Castiel glared at him, feeling angry and humiliated.

"You're a dick, Dean Winchester." Castiel spat finally. Dean looked up obviously taken aback by the outburst. "You know damn well that Pam is one of my best friends and then I catch you-you doing…_.THAT!_" He gestured to the house with his hands, eyes wild.

Dean held up his hands as if trying to calm Castiel down but Cas slapped them away and pushed him back. Dean stumbled backwards nearly tripping over a branch.

Castiel had crossed the line and he knew it. Dean's eyes widened with rage and he flew at Castiel shoving him back harder causing Castiel to gasp.

Castiel seemed to go blind with fury because the next thing he knew his fist had made contact with the side of Dean's face. Dean flew back shocked, he subconsciously held his hand up and gently touched his jaw. His lip was busted, and a line of blood had streaked down his chin.

Before Castiel could so much as move, Dean had grabbed him by his shirt collar and slammed him into the side of the house. Castiel snarled as his head hit the wall hard and his eyes met Dean's

"Go ahead, Dean, hit me!" He spat. But before he could say anything else Dean's mouth was on his. Castiel's eyes widened in shock as Dean's lips moved against his. _Is this really fucking happening_? He thought in utter disbelief. Dean pulled back and they both stared at each other, Dean's hands still fisted in Castiel's shirt.

Dean was shaking, and he was breathing hard and fast. Castiel's legs felt numb and he was kind of thankful that Dean had him pinned against a wall at the moment because otherwise, he probably would have collapsed.

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, both taking each other in. Then with a growl Castiel grabbed Dean by his shirt and spun him around.

Dean's back hit the wall hard and he let out a small gasp as Castiel's face hovered a couple of centimeters away from his. Then, without warning, Castiel pulled Dean into him, and they were kissing again.

Castiel closed his eyes and let his grip tighten on Dean's shirt. Dean wrapped his arms around Cas and grabbed a fistful of his hair, returning the kiss almost desperately.

Dean nipped at his mouth before running his tongue over his bottom lip. Castiel groaned as Dean pulled him in closer, their tongues tangling together sloppily, but in the most amazing way.

Cas could feel his pants tighten and he grinded his hips into Dean's roughly. Dean moaned into his mouth which urged Cas on. He put his knee between Dean's legs and Dean gasped. He pulled his face back and tugged on Castiel's hair to where he had better access to his neck.

He kissed a trail down his throat and then ran his tounge back up and paused to suck a red mark into Castiel's skin.

Cas whimpered as Dean's lips met his again. This time slower, as they explored each others mouths. Castiel put his hand on Dean's cheek and pulled back.

"What are you doing?" He whispered softly. Dean looked back at him, lips swollen, confusion clouding face. "You're straight, Dean." he added with a sigh, taking his hand away from Dean's face and stepping back.

Dean looked down at the ground and then back up to Castiel.

_I tried to be._ He signed, his face suddenly looking exhausted. Castiel cocked his head,

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Dean sighed, trying to think of a way to put it so Cas would understand.

_I tried to not like guys. I tried so hard. That's why I did all that with Pam. But- _

Dean paused, hands hovering in the air as he looked at Castiel, who nodded for him to keep going.

_But for some reason you make it hard for me._

"I make…It hard for you?" Castiel asked suddenly feeling overwhelmed.

Dean nodded his head sheepishly.

"But, why do you try so hard?" Castiel asked, taking a step closer, "To fight it-I mean." Dean looked up now, suddenly looking scared and uncomfortable. Castiel's heart suddenly felt heavy. What happened to you? He thought, ignoring the pressure in his chest and stepping closer, taking Dean's hand into his.

"It's okay." He said gently, stroking his thumb over the back of Dean's hand, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Dean nodded gratefully and smiled at Castiel sadly. Cas returned the smile and pecked Dean gently on the lips.

It was turning out to be an interesting year indeed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay guys, here's Chapter 6 :D Sorry if it's a little sloppy. It's almost two in the morning and I have a lot on my mind. I probably won't be able to update for a couple of days because I'm going to be visiting friends and stuff, but I promise the next chapter will be up by Wednesday! Thanks so much for all the feedback, I am so glad that you guys are liking it so much and I hope you enjoy this chapter :D -**

Castiel got home after the party that night and felt like he was walking on air. The events that took place over the course of the evening played over and over again in his head and he couldn't stop the smile that broke out across his face as he stumbled, still a little intoxicated, to his bed.

He had just clumsily stripped down to his t-shirt and boxers when his brother clumsily burst into his room, blow pop in his mouth and a glazed over look in his eyes. He shut Castiel's door and walked over to the bed before pulling off his shoes and laying down beside his younger brother.

"Gabe…What are you doing?" Castiel asked his brother confused. Gabriel scoffed as he pulled the blankets up over him and laid his head down on the pillow,

"I'm fucked up. Can't a guy get into his brothers bed without being accused of something?" He asked incredulously, then seemed to backtrack, "Actually, in that context it does sound a little odd."

Castiel laughed, his good mood radiating through the flush on his cheeks. Gabriel sat up on his elbows and searched his brothers face curiously,

"Oh my god, you got laid didn't you?" he asked incredulous, "Well, good for you bro, I didn't think you had it in you!" Castiel rolled his eyes,

"No, Gabe, I did not have sex tonight." He replied honestly.

"Psh, could have fooled me with that whole, 'dreamy love sick puppy dog' look you have going on right now. If you need me to leave you and your hand alone for a bit I understand."

Castiel blushed and his jaw dropped at his brothers vulgar assumption,

"Wh-what? Gabriel, I'm not going…" He sighed, "Shut up." He mumbled as his brother laughed at how uncomfortable his little brother was when it came to the topic of sex.

Things went quiet for a few minutes, and Castiel was about to dose off, when his brother spoke again,

"You know, Cas. I won't judge you or think differently of you no matter what. You know that right?" Castiel's eyes shot open and he glanced down at his brother feeling panic building up in his chest,

"Gabe-I don't-" His brother cut him off,

"Calm down Cas, I'm drunk and sentimental, let me have my moment." Gabriel muttered as his eyes closed and the lollipop fell from his mouth.

Castiel was too tired and too happy to really read too much into what Gabe had just said, so he closed his eyes, scooting away to where there was a comfortable distance away from the now drooling Gabe, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

He dreamed of green eyes that night.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Castiel felt his stomach doing back flips as he made his way to class on Monday morning. He had been anxious all weekend, barely able to contain himself. He was going to see Dean today. The thought almost made him swoon and he picked up the pace.

"Hey Cas!" Sam shouted as he passed by, books in hand, smile on his face.

"Hey Sam!" Castiel greeted with a genuine smile at the younger Winchester. _ I made out with your brother_. He thought, quickly shaking the awkward thought away as he walked into his classroom and took his seat.

"Hey man, What happened to you Friday? One minute you were knocking back shots like a maniac, and then the next you just, disappeared!" Ash exclaimed, looking up from his laptop and waiting for an explanation.

Cas racked his brain for an excuse,

"I uh…had to tend to my garden." he blurted out.

_WHAT THE FUCK WAS THA_T, he internally screamed at himself.

Ash's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, "I'm gonna' just assume that that's code for, 'I was busy getting some major ass' and not what you actually just said because if that's the case, then I think you have some serious issues, dude."

Castiel opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by the chair next to him scooting out. He turned to see Dean putting his books down and smiling at him. Castiel's heart jumped to his throat.

"Uh, Hey Dean." He greeted shyly.

_Hey Cas. _

Dean signed. Cas was going to ask him how his weekend was, but was interrupted by Ash clearing his throat obnoxiously,

"Um, I'm not through with you Mr. Novak. Who was this mystery lady that has you all wide eyed and bushy tailed all of a sudden?"

Dean's eyes widened and he looked away quickly, suddenly fascinated by a piece of lint on his shirt and Castiel's face turned red as he turned to snap at his friend,

"For Christ's sake Ash I wasn't with a chick!" _At least that part stands true._ "I already told you what I was doing." He muttered crossing his arms stubbornly. Ash chuckled,

"Yeah, you were- 'tending to your garden'- at 11:00 at night, totally hammered, and in a house full of drunk horny people. Sure, Cas. that sounds legit."

Cas shrugged his shoulders,

"You'd be surprised at how often it happens." He replied, figuring he'd just stick with the lie. Ash was about to interrogate him further when he was cut off by Pam storming to the back of the room and slamming her stuff down on her desk,

"Way to leave me hanging, Winchester." She snapped at a suddenly uncomfortable looking Dean.

Dean rubbed the back of his neck nervously and glanced over to Cas, eyes begging for help.

"He was with me." Cas blurted out, cursing himself and his impulsiveness.

"He was helping you what? Plant flowers in that so-called _garden_ I'm hearing so much about?" Ash snorted and rolled his eyes before gluing them back to his computer screen. Pam and Dean shared a confused look.

"No, he drove me home." Castiel lied, "After I walked in on you two sucking face in the bathroom and busted my ass." He added gesturing towards Dean and Pam and cringing inwardly at the memory.

"Well," Ash said surprised, "I guess Deano' here _was_ tending to a garden. And by garden, I mean Pam's vagina." Dean glared at the mullet headed red neck and had the urge to crack that god-damned lap top over his head.

"Can the garden thing just die now, please?" Cas begged exasperated, annoyance pulsing at the back of his head, specifically due to his two best friends.

Pam apparently didn't pick up on the sudden tension, for the fact that she was smirking devilishly at Dean.

"You know Dean." She purred leaning over her desk to where she was staring him right in the eye, "I would gladly let you into my garden, _anytime_." Dean's eyes widened and he sent an unsure look Cas's way before turning back to her.

Then, as if a switch flipped in Dean's head, he straightening up, looking straight at Pamela and gave her one of his die-hard side smirks. Pam bit her lip seductively and Dean winked at her. Cas, scrunching his face together in disgust, slammed his books down on the ground causing everyone in the class to look up startled.

"Get a room." He snapped angrily before turning in his seat and hunching down, silently fuming.

He got out his notebook to copy down the notes Ms. Beth was writing on the board, not sparing a glance towards Pam or Dean.

When class was halfway over, Castiel finally peered over to see Dean staring at him. When he caught his eye Dean immediately lifted his hands and started signing an explanation,

_I'm sorry I panicked I didn't know what else to do._

Castiel was about to open his mouth to snap at him, but thought better of it. Instead, he decided to sign back as to avoid any unwanted listeners,

_You could just admit that you're gay and get over yourself. _

Dean looked taken aback at Castiel's words and glanced around the room nervously then turned back to Cas, face sullen, and hard. The good thing about Dean not being able to talk, was that he couldn't yell. But he definitely put the saying 'if looks could kill' to good use. He held up his hands and started forming a reply;

_Don't go judging me when YOU haven't even told anyone that YOU'RE gay yet_-He paused-_ and I'm not gay. Not all the way at least._

Castiel and Dean glared at each other,

_You know the last time you looked at me like that I almost got laid._

Dean added, knowing damn well he was pushing it.

Castiel let out a long breath trying to keep his anger from boiling over and decided to just turn away and ignore him.

It was almost the end of class when Castiel decided to just go ahead and get everything out in the open. He scooted his chair closer so he could talk quietly,

"You need to make up your mind, because I'm not going to waste my time pining after you if the feeling isn't mutual." He hissed, startling Dean slightly.

Dean looked over at him, jaw set, arms crossed tightly over his chest. He seemed to be contemplating. Castiel waited patiently for a reply.

Finally Dean sighed and uncrossed his arms,

_I do like you, a lot. But-_ He stopped moving his hands for a moment,_ I don't know if I'm ready to be in a relationship with a guy yet._

Castiel felt a slight relief hearing that Dean did have some feelings for him, but that didn't stop his offensive side from taking over none the less.

"Oh please, I was right about you having some serious gay panic issues. If I was a girl you wouldn't have even hesitated with trying to get in my pants."

Dean snorted loudly, causing Ms. Beth to shoot a warning glance to the back of the room. When she turned her backs to them again, Dean looked back to Cas;

_Like you wouldn't be willing._

"Well yeah, Dean, you're right, I _would_ be willing. Isn't that what all of this is about?" Cas snapped back before he could stop himself. Dean's face went blank and he looked down awkwardly. Castiel bit his lip and mentally punched himself in the mouth. He just pretty much dropped the bomb and told Dean the he wanted to fuck him. Great. Both of the boys faces had turned bright red and they refused to look at each other.

After a few minutes of silence Castiel let out an awkward cough, "Can…Can we just forget Friday ever happened." He whispered. Dean looked up shocked, something looking similar to hurt flashing across his face.

Castiel continued regardless, suddenly feeling sick, "This- being friends one minute and then hating each other the next is- kind of giving me whip-lash. So, let's just not talk about it anymore."

Dean reached over and brushed Castiel's arm softly. Cas felt a chill go up his spine at the contact,and he looked over to meet Dean's wide eyes again,

_Cas, I don't want to forget Friday happened. I'm just not ready for this kind of thing yet. Not just with you, but with anyone. _

Castiel stared at Dean's pleading face and couldn't help break into an amused smile.

Dean frowned, wondering why the hell Cas was suddenly all smiley when he just pretty much poured his fucking heart out.

"Oh alright stop looking so desperate…you pull it off too well." He whispered with mock hostility. Dean's face broke into a relieved grin and he shoved Cas playfully in the shoulder. They both let out stifled laughs, and then Dean got serious again,

_So, what are we doing?_

Castiel was a bit taken aback. Dean wasn't ready to be in a relationship with him (even though Cas wasn't ready to come out of the closet just yet anyways) but he also doesn't want to go on like they don't like each other because it's obvious that there's something between them. He sighed frustrated and shrugged,

"How about we just…Take it one day at a time? But…No more of this stupid bickering stuff, it's getting old." Dean smiled teasingly,

_Hey you started it._

Castiel chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah whatever." He saw Pam sneak a quick glance back at Dean and then turn back to her assignment and his face hardened. He leaned closer to Dean and dropped his voice, "But I swear to God if you fuck Pam I will personally kick your ass."

Dean gave him a mischievous smirk,

_Jealous?_

Cas didn't have time to make a smart ass comment because the bell rang and cut him off.

As he headed to second period he ran over the conversation he just had with Dean in his head. He still wasn't completely sure where they stood but at least all hope wasn't lost.

When the lunch bell rang, Castiel couldn't get to the cafeteria fast enough. He quickly shoved his books in his locker and made his way to the lunch room.

As he sat down next to Jo, he noticed Pam giving him a curious look.

"What?" He asked defensively.

"What were you and Dean so serious about in first period this morning? You guys seemed to be discussing something pretty intense." She questioned suspiciously,

Castiel tried his best to keep a straight face as he shrugged,

"Oh, just stuff." he deadpanned. Pam crossed her arms and gave him her best bitch face,

"Wow, thank you, 'oh-vivid-one'." Castiel rolled his eyes,

"Does it really matter what we were talking about?" He asked, hoping that she wouldn't push anymore on the subject.

"Oh, I'm just curious." She shrugged. Castiel eyed her suspiciously.

"You want to know if we were talking about you." He guessed sighing, and resting his head in his hand.

Pamela held her hand to her chest and pretended to look offended, "Why would you think such a thing?" She asked innocently. "But really, Did you?" Castiel let out an annoyed sigh,

"No, Pam, we did not discuss you." With that, Pam gave a disappointed pout and went back to eating her salad.

He suddenly felt someone sit down beside him and wasn't surprised when he saw it was Dean. Dean waved to Pam, Jo, Ash, and Chuck in acknowledgment and then focused his attention to Cas, smiling softly.

_Do you want to go somewhere_? Dean signed out of nowhere, catching Cas off guard.

"Um…Okay." Cas answered feeling confused and a tad nervous. The boys stood up, excusing themselves from the group, and made their way to the bathroom in silence.

Castiel wondered what Dean wanted to talk about, and found himself suddenly feeling extremely anxious. But his anxiety immediately subsided as soon as the bathroom door shut behind them and Dean's mouth was already on his.

Castiel returned the kiss almost immediately, running his hand through Dean's hair as the other boy bit down on his bottom lip. They pulled apart, breathing heavily, and putting their foreheads together affectionately.

"I wasn't expecting that." Cas muttered smiling and rubbing his thumb gently over Dean's cheek. Dean chuckled placing another peck on Cas's lips.

Then without warning, they heard a loud gasp from a few feet away and they sprung apart, Cas nearly tripping over his own feet.

Both of the boys stared in horror as they stood face to face to a wide eyed Andy. He was frozen to the spot, sharpie in hand, mouth hanging open in shock. Cas glanced over to Dean who looked pale and didn't appear to be breathing.

Castiel's heart seemed to be beating out of his chest as Andy stared at them in utter disbelief.

Cas swallowed hard, "Um, it's-it's not what it looks like." He said shakily, knowing damn well that it was the lamest cover-up in the book.

Andy cocked his head down slowly, "Riiiight." He drew out, not swayed in the slightest. They all stood awkwardly like that for a few more minutes, staring at each other nervously, when Andy finally broke out of his trance and quickly pushed passed Dean and Cas and sprinted out of the bathroom.

"Shit." Cas squeaked when the door shut behind him. "Shit shit _shit_." He looked over at Dean who was still frozen to the spot, staring blankly at the place Andy was standing just seconds before.

"D-Dean?" Cas whispered, hesitantly reaching out and brushing Dean's arm lightly with his fingers. Dean's head snapped over, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head.

_What the fuck are we going to do?_

Dean hands were shaking so much as he signed that he could barely form the right words. Castiel shook his head hopelessly,

"I don't know, Dean." He whispered, trying to keep the panic out of his voice as much as possible.

Tears were pushing at the back of his eyes and he quickly turned his back to Dean. _We're in some deep shit._ Castiel thought as tears streaked down his face. He gulped and let out a shaky breath, feeling as though he were about to vomit.

He was about to reach up and wipe the tears from his face, when Dean's arms suddenly wrapped around him. Pulling him in tightly. Castiel wrapped his arms around Dean's waist and buried his face in his neck.

"I'm scared." He admitted, sniffling. Dean nodded in agreement and rested his chin on Cas's head. "He's going to tell everyone." Castiel continued, voice breaking slightly. Dean pushed Castiel back a bit so he could use his hands,

_It's okay, we'll be fine. Just, fuck what everyone else thinks._

Castiel forced a small smile, "It's kind of ironic how you seem to be taking this whole thing better than I am." he stated humorlessly.

Little did he know, Dean was fighting with every bone in his body to not break down right there in the middle of the bathroom.

No, he wasn't going to let Cas see him like that. He would break down later, when he was in his room alone. But for now, he needed to stay strong for Cas's sake. He couldn't make Cas feel bad about who he was and what he wanted.

But as far as Dean was concerned, he wasn't allowed to give into what he wanted. His Dad's harsh words once again bounced around in his head.

_"-No son of mine is going to be no fag…"_

_"-What would your mother think of her own son liking dick…" _

He shuttered violently and forced the thoughts down, saving them for later.

Dean didn't hate Cas at all for wanting him; but he sure as hell hated himself for wanting Cas.


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, this chapter is kinda' short. I originally had a really long angsty chapter I was typing, but I think I'm saving that for later because it legit hurt me to type, so I did what any logical person would do and erased it all. But that's also a heads up that there is A LOT of angst in the near future, so prepare yourselves! (and I'm so sorry and I love every single one of you)**

Dean and Cas stood huddled together in the bathroom for what seemed like hours.

Dean didn't know what he was going to do. He had never really been one to care what people thought of him. But none the less, he couldn't help but feel a strange sense of foreboding of what was to come.

Castiel seemed to be taking it worse than Dean was at the moment. Dean couldn't really blame him. Castiel had a family to answer to, he had his friends that he had known for who knows how long to deal with. Dean's biggest concern was Sam.

Dean had a feeling that Sam already knew somewhat of his brothers confusing-at-times sexuality.

_Yelling- glass shattering- Sammy crying._

Dean jolted and wrenched away from Cas.

"D-Dean?" Cas breathed, eyes pooling with evident hurt and concern. Dean couldn't look at him. Instead, he turned around to face the wall, squeezing the bridge of his nose in concentration. He hoped that Cas wouldn't try to talk to him at the moment. He needed to think.

Thankfully, Cas didn't try to pursue him. Instead, he stayed rooted to his spot, fidgeting uneasily as he stared at Dean's back. Yeah, Cas was terrified of what waits for them outside the bathroom door. But he knew he could get through it if Dean was willing to stick it out by his side.

But it was the big '_If_' that was unnerving.

Finally, Dean dropped his hand from his face and turned around. He took a few steps towards Castiel and exhaled deeply. Castiel felt the urge to reach out and touch him, but thought better of it. So instead, he waited patiently, searching Dean's face for any signs of what he feared would be finality.

_This is tough, Cas._ Dean signed suddenly. Castiel swallowed and nodded his head in agreement, seeming to be lost for words at the moment.

_But I'm not a coward, and I don't want this to end because some football jock decides to run his mouth to the whole school- which we both know is exactly what's going to happen._

Dean stopped moving his hands to make sure Castiel was keeping up. When Cas nodded, he continued.

_So, I say before he spreads it across the whole school, we beat him to the punch._

Castiel stared at Dean in utter consternation.

"Dean," Castiel said after a moment of silence, "How are we going to 'beat them to the punch'? By announcing it over the loudspeaker? By handing out _flyers_?" Castiel felt like his heart was about to combust as Dean gave him an unanticipated smile.

_Trust me._ he signed.

Cas searched the green eyed boys face carefully before nodding slowly.

"Okay, I trust you." he said in barely a whisper, because despite everything-he did.

Dean's smile widened at that and as if on queue, the bell rang. Castiel gulped and suddenly felt light headed. Dean noticing his distress stepped forward and gave him a reassuring peck on the head.

_We got this._ he signed, and then held out his hand for Castiel to take. Castiel intertwined his fingers with Dean's and suddenly, he felt like things were going to be okay.

Dean squeezed his hand gently, before pushing the bathroom door open, and leading Castiel into the now crowded hallway.

There was a hushed gasp throughout the mass of students as people gaped at the two boys hands clasped tightly together-as if they were terrified of losing each other if they let go.

Castiel glanced back up to Dean unsurely, only to see that Dean was smiling, almost smugly, at his schoolmates.

Castiel had to admit, for someone who seemed to be having a mental breakdown just moments before, Dean knew how to keep up his cocky façade with an almost uncanny ease.

The two boys started making their way through the gaggle of shocked people when they came face to face with none other than Sam.

The younger Winchester wasn't paying attention at first. He seemed to be absorbed in a conversation with a pretty blonde headed girl by the name of Jessica. But seeming to notice the sudden commotion, his eyes flashed up, and fell directly on his brother and Cas.

Sam's jaw dropped and he looked from his brother to Cas and then to their hands. Cas felt his face heat over and he looked down to his shoes. Dean gave his hand another reassuring squeeze as they continued flaunting down the hall.

"Wait, Dean!" Dean stalled and turned his head to see Sam running up behind them, pushing his way through the random on-lookers until he was at his brothers side almost out of breath.

"Dean," He said again, his wide puppy dog eyes staring up at his big brother inquisitively. Cas felt something tug at his heart at the sight. This is the first time he had ever seen the two brothers interact in person.

Dean's arrogant smile had been replaced with something similar to a grimace. His brow was scrunched together tightly and his eyes were almost begging his little brother to understand.

His prayers must of somehow been answered, because Sam lifted his arm up to pat his brother on the back and broke into a genuine smile,

"I'm happy for you." He said simply, sending a nod of approval Cas's way before turning around and making his way back to Jessica.

Dean turned to Cas, eyes wide with shock before pulling his hand out of Cas's and throwing his arm around his shoulders, pulling him in closer. That gesture seemed to cause even more of an uproar, but suddenly, Cas didn't care.

He leaned in closer to Dean and wrapped his arm around his waist confidently. But of course his confidence didn't last long, as Pam, Jo, Ash, and Chuck all made there way out of the lunch room. _ Seriously? they pick now to travel as a pack?_ Cas thought to himself incredulously.

Jo was the first to see. Her jaw slacked and she cocked her head to the side as if she wasn't sure if what she was seeing was real. Then Chuck, who had followed Jo's gaze and had dropped his notebook in shock. Chuck smacked Ash in the arm, not taking his eyes away from Dean and Cas. Ash looked up to where Chuck was pointing and almost ran into a locker.

Then, last but not least, Pam. She was looking down at her phone when she noticed her friends had stopped walking. She turned and opened her mouth to ask what was up when she stopped mid-sentence, eyes following her friends dis-believing gazes and landing directly on Dean and Castiel.

Castiel abruptly stopped walking.

"Dean." He whispered panic evident in his voice. Dean pulled him in closer and started dragging him towards the seemingly disoriented group. "What are you doing." Castiel hissed, attempting to turn around. But Dean just gripped him tighter and continued on, as if he were on a mission.

They stopped in front of the group, Castiel not able to meet his friends eyes. It was quiet until Pam (to both Dean and Cas's dismay) broke the silence.

"Um, what the fuck?" She asked stepping to where she was right in front of the two boys. "What's going on?" She aimed the question towards Castiel, knowing Dean wouldn't be able to speak for himself.

Castiel finally glanced up to Pam's scrutinizing gaze and swallowed hard. Dean squeezed Cas's shoulder in encouragement.

"Uh…I'm gay." He deadpanned. Pam just rolled her eyes,

"No fucking shit! I am aware of that _now!_" Her voice was rising almost hysterically and Castiel cast his eyes down uncomfortably.

Then, he felt someone lightly touch his arm and he looked up to see Jo staring at him intently.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She whispered, he could detect a hint of hurt in her voice and he instantly felt guilty.

Out of all of his friends, Jo and him have always been the closest. He knows he should have told her.

"Did you think I was going to judge you or something? Did you think I wasn't going to be your friend anymore?" She questioned, her voice soft, but at the same time almost scolding.

Dean took his arm from around Castiel and gave him a light shove towards Jo. Cas figured that was his way of telling him to nut up.

"I'm sorry, Jo." He said sincerely after a long pause. "It wasn't that I didn't trust you guys or anything…I just…I don't know, I wasn't comfortable enough with myself to let anyone know yet." Cas looked at Jo's face that was now looked a little less hurt, and more along the lines of sympathetic. Castiel wasn't sure which was worse.

"Cas, we're your best friends…Just because you like it up the butt doesn't mean we're just going to shun you." Ash interjected, trying to sound sentimental but just making Castiel blush more furiously than he already was.

"Gee, Ash, thanks for that." He said sarcastically.

"Okay," Pam said suddenly, "If you weren't sure about yourself enough to come out before, what the fuck made you come out now?" She asked, not bothering to hide the hostility that came with every word she spoke.

Castiel didn't really know how to answer that. He turned back to Dean, who was waiting quietly, hands in his pockets, watching the chick-flick moment that Cas and his friends were having with amusement.

"I-don't know." Castiel admitted, still staring at Dean.

Because it was true, he didn't know. What was it about Dean that got to him? He had hardly known the guy a week. What was it about Dean that made Castiel feel like things weren't that bad after all-Like things were actually okay?

Because most of the time-things _aren't_ okay.

It's not okay that Castiel's father decided to up and leave his family without explanation. It's not okay that Dean doesn't have a voice. It's not okay that Anna's deaf. It's not okay that Sam and Dean's mother is dead. It's not okay that Castiel has become so uninterested in life that he could care less if he lived or died. It's not okay that Dean is still trying to please the father that broke him.

A majority of the time, things are not okay.

But maybe that's because people forget to look at the bigger picture.


End file.
